Operating device for placing or retrieving bottle-like piece goods

ABSTRACT

An operating device for placing or retrieving piece goods onto or from storage places of a picking device is provided. The operating device includes a gripping jaw assembly having two gripping jaws with opposite lying inner surfaces extending in a first horizontal direction corresponding to a direction for placing and retrieving piece goods. The gripping jaws are configured so that the distance of the inner surfaces from each other tapers in the downward direction at least in sections and the piece goods can be lifted from below or the gripping jaws can be moved to clamp the piece goods between them. The operating device also includes an actuation unit coupled to the gripping jaw assembly for moving the gripping jaw assembly in the first horizontal direction.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.17/528,876, filed on Nov. 17, 2021, entitled “OPERATING DEVICE FORPLACING OR RETRIEVING BOTTLE-LIKE PIECE GOODS,” which is a continuationof U.S. application Ser. No. 16/552,989, filed Aug. 27, 2019, entitled“OPERATING DEVICE FOR PLACING OR RETRIEVING BOTTLE-LIKE PIECE GOODS,”which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,180,326 on Nov. 23, 2021, which is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/154,006, filed Oct. 8,2018, entitled “OPERATING DEVICE FOR PLACING OR RETRIEVING BOTTLE-LIKEPIECE GOODS,” which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,435,252 on Oct. 8, 2019,which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to an operating device for placing orretrieving bottle-like piece goods onto or from storage places of apicking device. In particular, the bottle-like piece goods aremedicament bottles and similarly shaped medicament packs.

SUMMARY

One or more embodiments provide a method of moving piece goods, themethod comprising: moving a gripping jaw assembly comprising first andsecond gripping jaws disposed opposed to each other along a lengthwiseaxis, the first and second gripping jaws having inner surfaces, whereina distance between upper portions of the inner surfaces is greater thana distance between lower portions below the upper portions of theopposed inner surfaces in a first position of the first and secondgripping jaws, wherein the moving comprises moving by a first actuationunit the gripping jaw assembly along the lengthwise axis toward astorage place having one or more piece goods; moving, by the firstactuation unit, the first and second gripping jaws adjacent a firstpiece good disposed in a first location of the storage place; engaging,by the first and second gripping jaws, the first piece good; and moving,by the first actuation unit, the first and second gripping jaws awayfrom the first location of the storage place to remove the first piecegood from the first location of the storage place.

One or more embodiments provide a method of moving cylindrical piecegoods, the method comprising: moving a gripping jaw assembly comprisingfirst and second gripping jaws disposed opposed to each other along alengthwise axis, the first and second gripping jaws having innersurfaces, wherein a distance between upper portions of the innersurfaces is greater than a distance between lower portions of theopposed inner surfaces in a first position of the first and secondgripping jaws, wherein the moving comprises moving, by a first actuationunit, the gripping jaw assembly along the lengthwise axis toward astorage place having one or more piece goods; lifting, by the first andsecond gripping jaws, a first cylindrical piece good from below; andmoving, by the first actuation unit, the first and second gripping jawsto move the first cylindrical piece good to a different location.

The foregoing and other features, aspects and advantages of thedisclosed embodiments will become more apparent from the followingdetailed description and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The device according to the present disclosure and the method accordingto the present disclosure are described in greater detail below, withreference to the appended drawings.

FIGS. 1A and 1B show perspective views of one or more embodiments of anoperating device.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show detailed views of the operating device of FIGS. 1Aand 1B.

FIG. 3 shows a detailed view of the operating device of FIGS. 1A and 1Bhaving rotated gripping jaws.

FIG. 4 shows a frontal view of the gripping jaws of FIG. 3 having amoving mechanism.

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of one or more embodiments of anoperating device.

FIG. 6 shows a detailed view of the operating device of FIG. 5 .

FIGS. 7A and 7B show perspective views of one or more embodiments of anoperating device.

FIG. 8 shows a partial top view of the operating device of FIGS. 7A and7B.

FIGS. 9A and 9B show detailed views of the operating device of FIGS. 7Aand 7B.

FIGS. 10A through 10D show detailed views of the operating device ofFIGS. 7A and 7B.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below describes variousconfigurations of the subject technology and is not intended torepresent the only configurations in which the subject technology may bepracticed. The detailed description includes specific details for thepurpose of providing a thorough understanding of the subject technology.Accordingly, dimensions are provided in regard to certain aspects asnon-limiting examples. However, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that the subject technology may be practiced without thesespecific details. In some instances, well-known structures andcomponents are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuringthe concepts of the subject technology.

It is to be understood that the present disclosure includes examples ofthe subject technology and does not limit the scope of the appendedclaims. Various aspects of the subject technology will now be disclosedaccording to particular but non-limiting examples. Various embodimentsdescribed in the present disclosure may be carried out in different waysand variations, and in accordance with a desired application orimplementation.

In typical picking devices, a large number of different and differentlydimensioned medicament packs are stored chaotically and in aspace-optimized manner on elongated flat shelves or are situated oninclined storage shafts. The stored medicament packs are retrieved withthe aid of an operating device, for the purpose of which the medicamentpacks situated on a shelf are moved onto a tray using clamping jaws ofthe operating device. The gripping jaws of the operating device, inparticular, are designed to retrieve and place medicament packs having asquare base.

The typical medicament packs to be stored in a picking devicedifferentiate themselves with regard to their dimensions; however, theyusually have a plane base and are orthogonally aligned to the base, haveparallel side surfaces and end faces, which again are orthogonallyaligned with regard to these side surfaces, so that the medicament packscan be pulled, usually using pivotable clamping jaws, from a storageplace onto the tray of the operating device.

Using typical operating devices in the picking devices, bottle-likeshaped piece goods or medicament packs can only be stored in a standingmanner on their usually circular bottom area. Such storing is howevernot space optimized because the heights of the bottle-like medicamentpacks greatly differ. Also, starting at a certain weight, it isdifficult to pull the medicament packs from a storage place onto thetray using the usually used clamping jaws without the risk of thebottle-like medicament packs tipping over during this movement (andmaking a further retrieval impossible) or of the clamping jaws bendingopen during the pulling motion and, for this reason, making the pullingfrom the storage place impossible. Alternatively, it is possible tostore the bottle-like medicament packs in brackets, these brackets beingformed like usual medicament packs and correspondingly can be placed orretrieved using known operating devices. This however requires that themedicament bottles before storing are moved into respective brackets andafter retrieval are removed from these brackets, which makes the overallhandling time consuming. Moreover, different brackets have to beprovided for the differently dimensioned bottle-like medicament packs,further complicating the storing of bottle-like medicament packs usingthe known operating devices.

It is desired to provide an operating device which can place andretrieve bottle-like piece goods, in particular medicament packs, whichare horizontal, without using specifically adapted brackets.

One or more embodiments of the operating device include a gripping jawassembly having two profile-rod shaped gripping jaws, which includeopposite lying inner surfaces, extending in a first horizontaldirection, the first horizontal direction corresponding to the directionof placing and retrieving piece goods. The gripping jaws are configuredin such a manner that the distance of the inner surfaces from each otherat least in sections tapers in the downward direction so that the innersurfaces are configured in such a manner that the bottle-like piecegoods can be lifted from below. The operating device also includes afirst actuation unit coupled with the gripping jaw assembly for movingthe gripping jaw assembly in the first horizontal direction, so that thelifted piece goods can be removed from or added to a storage place.

The operating device therefore operates according to a differentgripping principle than typical operating devices for cuboidalmedicament packs. The bottle-like piece good, for example, a bottle-likemedicament pack, is not clamped or pulled but gripped from below by thegripping jaws and lifted. For this purpose, the alignment of theclamping jaw according to the present invention is necessary to ensure astable position of the bottle-like piece goods on the gripping jaws. Theinner surfaces of the profile-rod shaped gripping jaws at least insections are configured in such a manner that a secure transport of thebottle-like piece goods in the “trough”, which is defined by the innersurfaces of the rod-shaped gripping jaws, is ensured.

The gripping jaws may be configured as round profiles, so that the innersurfaces are configured in a convex manner to each other. The distanceof the inner surfaces from each other at least in sections tapers in thedownward direction, thus, the inner surfaces are configured in a roundmanner. A further advantage of the profile-rod shaped gripping jawsconfigured as a round profile is that they feature, in comparison to thetypical clamping jaws, an increased stability, as a result of which arespective operating device is capable to also place and again retrievebottle-like piece goods or medicament packs having an increased weight.

In one or more embodiments of the operating device, the gripping jawsmay be configured as a flat profile having flat inner surfaces. Since itis necessary that the distance of the inner surfaces from each other atleast in sections tapers in the downward direction, the flat profilesare positioned to each other in a V-shaped manner.

Bottle-like piece goods can be easily placed and retrieved usinggripping jaws configured as a flat profile having flat inner surfaces,which are positioned in a permanent V-shaped manner; however, it is notpossible or only possible with great difficulty to place and retrievetypical medicament packs, that is, such medicament packs having arectangular base. In one or more embodiments, the gripping jaws may berotatably mounted so that the gripping jaws with the aid of a secondactuation unit are rotatable from a position gripping from below, inwhich the distance of the inner surfaces at least in sections tapers inthe downward direction, into a clamping position, in which the innersurfaces of the gripping jaws, for example, are oriented parallel toeach another. A correspondingly configured operating device makes itpossible to place and retrieve the bottle-like medicament packs and alsomedicament packs having a rectangular base.

On account of the configuration of the gripping jaws, that is, onaccount of that the distance of the inner surfaces at least in sectionstapers in the downward direction, it is possible to place and retrievebottle-like medicament packs having very different diameters. However,for gripping jaws which have a predetermined distance to each other itis, even for the alignment of the inner surfaces according to thepresent invention, only possible to place and retrieve bottle-likemedicament packs having a certain diameter or radius. If the diameter ofthe bottle-like medicament packs is too big, these medicament packs canno longer securely be stored in the trough formed by the inner surfaceshaving the distance tapering in the downward direction. If the diameteris too small, reaching from below is simply no longer possible becausethe gripping jaws are guided past the bottle-like medicament packs.

In one or more embodiments the operating device has a third actuationunit coupled to the gripping jaws, with which the gripping jaws aremovable toward and away from each other along a second horizontaldirection transverse to the first horizontal direction. For acorrespondingly configured operating device, the gripping jaws can beadapted to the diameter of bottle-like configured medicament packs orpiece goods. Even in the case in which the gripping jaws are rotatablymounted, thus, the operating device is suitable for placing andretrieving bottle-like medicament packs and typical medicament packs, acorresponding configuration is advantageous, since it enables toclamp-grip typical medicament packs having very different dimensions.

The gripping jaws of the operating device may be specifically designedso that a gripping from below and lifting of the bottle-like medicamentpacks is enabled. In order to achieve the previously mentioned object, avariation exists in which the bottle-like medicament packs are notlifted but pulled from the storage place. The typical operating devicesare also used to pull typical medicament packs having rectangular basesfrom a storage place in the picking device; however, for this purpose,the medicament packs are clamp-gripped by pivoting the clamping jaws. Onaccount of the plane circular bases of the bottle-like medicament packs,clamp-gripping is however to be dismissed—the clamping force wouldsimply not suffice to pull medicament packs formed in such a manner, forexample, from the storage location in the picking device.

One or more embodiments of an operating device include a tray extendingin a first horizontal direction, which has a placing and a retrievingside. Such a tray is necessary, as the bottle-like piece goods ormedicament packs are not to be lifted but pulled. Furthermore, theoperating device includes a gripping jaw assembly having two grippingjaws movable toward and away from each other along a second horizontaldirection transverse to first horizontal direction, the gripping jawsfor carrying out the movement in the second horizontal direction beingcoupled to a third actuation unit, at least one of the gripping jawsbeing assigned to a pivot device which, at the end of a gripping jawfacing away from the gripping jaw assembly (thus, the terminal end) hasa catching section, which for catching a piece good situated between thegripping jaws is pivotable into the area between the gripping jaws. Theoperating device further includes a sliding device for sliding a piecegood from the tray, and an actuation unit coupled to the gripping jawassembly for moving the gripping jaw assembly in the first horizontaldirection. Different from the first alternative, in which thebottle-like medicament packs on account of the configuration of thegripping jaws according to the present invention are grippable frombelow, the bottle-like medicament packs are grippable from behind andpullable from a storage place by the operating device of the secondalternative approach, since at least one pivot device is assigned to oneof the gripping jaws, which can grip a bottle-like piece good to beretrieved from behind.

In the previously mentioned embodiments, it is not necessarily providedthat the clamping jaws themselves are able to be pivoted, thus, thatthey can be moved in such a manner that the two terminal ends of thegripping jaws can be moved toward or away from each other, but that theends of the gripping jaws assigned to the gripping jaw assembly are keptstationary. This can be advantageous, in particular, if bottle-likemedicament packs and also typical medicament packs are to be stored.Thus, in one or more embodiments the gripping jaw assembly has a fourthactuation unit and at least one of the gripping jaws is pivotablymounted at the gripping jaw assembly and is pivotable via the fourthactuation unit.

In particular, when clamp-gripping and gripping bottle-like medicamentpacks from below, it can occur owing to the weight of the medicamentpacks that the gripping jaws bend, the exact type of bending dependingon the action of force onto the gripping jaws. In an operating devicehaving gripping jaws configured as a flat profile, the gripping jaws atleast in sections have a web extending in the longitudinal direction,which prevents the gripping jaws from bending.

FIGS. 1A and 1B show two perspective views of an operating device 1. Theoperating device includes a first actuation unit 20 and gripping jaws 11a, 11 b that are rotatably mounted, so that the gripping jaws 11 a, 11 bwith the aid of a second actuation unit 110, formed by actuators 110 a,110 b, are rotatable from a gripping position from below as shown inFIG. 1A. Thus, the distances A1, A2 of inner surfaces 12 a and 12 b (seeFIG. 4 ) from opposite lying gripping jaws 11 a, 11 b tapers in thedownward direction (e.g., the distance A1 between the tops of grippingjaws 11 a, 11 b is longer than the distance A2 between the bottoms ofgripping jaws 11 a, 11 b), into a clamping position shown in FIG. 1B, inwhich the inner surfaces 12 a, 12 b of gripping jaws 11 a, 11 b arealigned parallel to each other. Gripping jaws 11 a, 11 b are part ofgripping jaw assembly 100 having a central frame structure 101, to whichtwo actuators 110 a, 110 b of the second actuation unit 110 arefastened. Gripping jaw assembly 100 and the positioning of actuators 110a, 110 b at this gripping jaw assembly 100 is described in greaterdetail in reference of the subsequent figures.

The first actuation unit 20, which is part of a linear drive system, bywhich gripping jaw assembly 100 is movable along a first horizontaldirection X, for the purpose of which the linear drive system includes athreaded spindle 21, through the rotational movement of which thegripping jaw assembly 100 can be moved along the first horizontaldirection X. Between the two parallel gripping jaws 11 a, 11 b, a slider10 is shown, which can be moved via an actuation mechanism (not shown)along the first horizontal direction X, in particular, the slider 10 canbe used to slide “normal” medicament packs having a plane rectangularbase from a tray 2 of the operating device 1 onto, for example, astorage place.

The operating device 1 is, owing to its special design, suitable toplace and retrieve bottle-like medicament packs and also typicalmedicament packs. As already indicated above, the gripping jaws 11 a, 11b are rotatably mounted, that is, they can be rotated from the positiongripping from below for bottle-like medicament packs shown in FIG. 1Ainto the position shown in FIG. 1B, in which inner surfaces 12 a, 12 bof gripping jaws 11 a, 11 b are configured parallel to each other. Inorder to support the clamping effect of the gripping jaws 11 a, 11 b forplacing and retrieving medicament packs, gripping jaw 11 a at its endfacing away from the gripping jaw assembly 100 may have section 15 ahaving an increased friction. Gripping jaw 11 b may have a correspondingsection having increased friction. Here, the gripping jaw assembly 100furthermore includes a sensor 3, by which for example the alignment oftray 2 at a storage surface can be determined. Furthermore, theoperating device 1 includes a third actuation unit 140, the function ofwhich is explained in greater detail in the subsequent figures.

In FIG. 1B, a web 25 b can be seen for gripping jaw 11 b, which extendsin first horizontal direction X on the outer surface of the gripping jaw11 b and improves rigidity of the gripping jaw 11 b, so that thegripping jaw 11 b does not bend outwards when, for example, lifting amedicament pack. A corresponding web may be formed at the outer surfaceof gripping jaw 11 a.

FIGS. 2A-4 show detailed views of the operating device 1 in the regionof gripping jaw assembly 100, various components being omitted in FIGS.2A and 2B for illustrating components otherwise concealed (i.e.,actuator 110 b in FIG. 2A and actuators 110 a, 110 b in FIG. 2B, as wellas central frame structure 101). As can be seen from FIGS. 2A-4 (inparticular illustrated in detail in FIG. 4 ), actuators 110 a, 110 b ofthe second actuation unit are coupled via a transmission 114 a, 114 bhaving rotators 111 a, 111 b, the rotary axis of which extends in firsthorizontal direction X. In turn, the rotators 111 a, 111 b are coupledvia a web to gripping jaw holders 112 a, 112 b, to which gripping jaws11 a, 11 b are attached. With the aid of actuators 110 a, 110 b, therotators 111 a, 111 b can be moved in such a manner that the grippingjaws 11 a, 11 b can be moved from the position shown in FIGS. 2A and 2Binto the position gripping from below shown in FIG. 3 .

The gripping jaws 11 a, 11 b may be movable toward and away from eachother along a second horizontal direction Y transverse to firsthorizontal direction X. For this purpose, the gripping jaws 11 a, 11 band the actuators 110 a, 110 b assigned to them, the rotators 111 a, 111b and the gripping jaw holders 112 a, 112 b are attached to respectivelyone gripping jaw slide 122 a, 122 b (see FIG. 2B). This gripping jawslide 122 a, 122 b may be moved along a gripping jaw guide 121 a, 121 bin second horizontal direction Y. For this purpose, the gripping jaws 11a, 11 b (including the components assigned to them) may be attached viathe actuators 110 a, 110 b to gripping jaw actuation rods 120 a, 120 b,which may be configured as two toothed bars guided in parallel, havingopposite profiles. Viewed from a vertical perspective, a gear wheel 141coupled to the third actuation unit 140 is situated between gripping jawactuation rods 120 a, 120 b. If this gear wheel 141 is rotated with theaid of the third actuation unit 140, the rotary movement of gear wheel141 is transferred to the actuators 110 a, 110 b coupled to gripping jawactuation rods 120 a, 120 b, as a result of which the gripping jaws 11a, 11 b can be moved toward and away from each other along secondhorizontal direction Y transverse to first horizontal direction X.

FIG. 3 shows once again a detailed view of the position gripping frombelow, that is, of the position in which the gripping jaws 11 a, 11 b ofthe operating device 1 are moved in such a manner that at least insections the distance of the inner surfaces 12 a, 12 b from each otheris tapered in the downward direction, so that the inner surfaces 12 a,12 b are configured in such a manner that the bottle-like piece goodscan be lifted from below.

With the aid of a frontal view of the gripping jaws 11 a, 11 b includingthe associated actuation assemblies, FIG. 4 illustrates how bottle-likepiece goods or medicament packs can be gripped by the gripping jaws 11a, 11 b. As a function of the operating device 1, namely whether thegripping jaws 11 a, 11 b can be moved in second horizontal direction Ytransverse to first horizontal direction X, bottle-like piece good 5 canbe approached from below or from the side with the aid of the grippingjaws 11 a, 11 b and can be retrieved from a storage place by a verticalmovement of the operating device 1. It can be concluded from FIG. 4 thatgripping jaws 11 a, 11 b are attached to gripping jaw holders 112 a, 112b, which, in turn, are attached via webs 113 a, 113 b to rotators 111 a,111 b, which are coupled via a transmission 114 a, 114 b to actuators110 a, 110 b. The operating device 1 makes it possible to place andretrieve bottle-like piece goods along their longitudinal direction. Inthis instance, it is required that a picking device is correspondinglyadapted so that the bottle-like piece goods are securely stored in theirstorage places. For this purpose, it is for example conceivable that thestorage places feature holders that are specifically adapted to thebottle-like piece goods. In the simplest case, for example, it can beprovided that a storage place 70 has two parallel resting means 71, 72,which enable storing the bottle-like piece goods in the longitudinaldirection. The exact type of storage of the bottle-like piece goods inthe longitudinal direction in the picking device, however, is not partof this disclosure and, for this reason, shall only be briefly hinted atin a rudimentary manner.

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of an operating device 1. Here, twogripping jaws 13 a, 13 b are configured as round profiles, which entailsthat inner surfaces 14 a, 14 b of the gripping jaws 13 a, 13 b areconfigured in a convex manner to each other. This type of configurationalso fulfills the requirement that at least in sections the distance ofthe inner surfaces 14 a, 14 b from each other is tapered in the downwarddirection so that the inner surfaces 14 a, 14 b are configured in such amanner that the bottle-like piece goods can be lifted from below. Theoperating device 1 also includes a gripping jaw assembly 100 having acentral frame structure 101. The gripping jaw assembly 100 furthermoreincludes an upper gripping jaw guide 150, which subsequently isdescribed in greater detail in reference to FIG. 6 .

Upper gripping jaw guide 150 includes two elongated holes 151 a, 151 bconfigured in second horizontal direction Y, into each of which one nose161 a, 161 b of a gripping jaw holder 160 a, 160 b engages. Grippingjaws 13 a, 13 b configured as round profiles are attached to grippingjaw holders 160 a, 160 b configured as L-shapes. As it is indicated inFIG. 6 , L-shaped gripping jaw holders 160 a, 160 b are fastened togripping jaw slides (not shown) via vertically running pivot axes 162 a,162 b. By moving upper gripping jaw guide 150 in first horizontaldirection X, a pivoting of gripping jaws 13 a, 13 b can be achieved onthe basis of the pivotable mounting of gripping jaw holders 160 a, 160 bat the gripping slides (not precisely visibly in FIG. 6 ). By situatingnoses 161 a, 161 b in elongated holes 151 a, 151 b of upper gripping jawguide 150 and holding the gripping jaw slides at the vertical pivot axes162 a, 162 b, these pivot axes 162 a, 162 b are pivoted inwards at theterminal ends when moving the upper gripping jaw guide 150 in thedirection of loading sill 2 a of tray 2. The movement of upper grippingjaw guide 150 in first horizontal direction X is caused by a fourthactuation unit 210, as it is described in greater detail in reference tothe subsequent figures.

FIGS. 7A and 7B show perspective views of a variation of operatingdevice 1. First the pivotability of the gripping jaws provided in thisoperating device 1 is described, which functions correspondingly in theoperating device 1 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 .

As it can be concluded from FIG. 7A, behind or below sensor 3 a fourthactuation unit 210 is provided. As it can be concluded from FIG. 7B,fourth actuation unit 210 is coupled via a coupling piece 211 to slide271, which with the aid of the actuation unit 210 can be moved on aguide 270 in first horizontal direction X. Slide 271, which, as can beconcluded from FIG. 7A, carries sensor 3, is connected via couplingelements 272 to an upper gripping jaw guide 250. Via coupling elements272, the movement of slide 271 in the first horizontal direction X istransferred to upper gripping jaw guide 250, which moves accordingly.Section 52 a of gripping jaw 50 a, and a corresponding section ofgripping jaw 50 b may have an increased friction.

FIG. 8 shows a top view onto gripping jaw assembly 200 and it beingcoupled to fourth actuation unit 210. As can be concluded from FIG. 8 ,noses 261 a, 261 b extend from L-shaped gripping jaw holders 260 a, 260b in elongated holes 251 a, 251 b, which are formed in upper grippingjaw guide 250. If the upper gripping jaw guide 250 is moved forward byfourth actuation unit 210 (in FIG. 8 moved downward), the L-shapedgripping jaw holders 260 a, 260 b, which are fixed via vertical pivotaxes 262 a, 262 b (see FIGS. 9A and 9B) at gripping jaw slides 222 a,222 b, are pivoted by catching the noses 261 a, 261 b of the grippingjaw holders 260 a, 260 b, so that the ends of the gripping jaws 50 a, 50b remote from the gripping jaw assembly 200 (thus, the terminal ends)are pivoted towards each other.

FIGS. 9A and 9B show detailed views of the gripping jaw assembly 200 andit being coupled to fourth actuation unit 210. Via a coupling 211,fourth actuation unit 210 is coupled with slide 271 movable in firsthorizontal direction X, which is movable on guide 270. Via couplingelements 272, which is only indicated in FIG. 8 , the movement in firsthorizontal direction X is transferred to the upper gripping jaw holder260 a, 260 b. As can be concluded from FIGS. 9A and 9B, the grippingjaws 50 a, 50 b are not only pivotable, but they can also be moved alongsecond horizontal direction Y. For this purpose, gripping jaw slides 222a, 222 b are attached to gripping jaw actuation rods 220 a, 220 b, whichcan be moved via a gear wheel 141 of third actuation unit 140 alongsecond horizontal direction Y. The movement of gripping jaw slides 222a, 222 b is transferred to L-shaped gripping jaw holders 260 a, 260 b.As can be concluded from FIGS. 9A and 9B, these gripping jaw holders 260a, 260 b are coupled via vertical axes 262 a, 262 b to the gripping jawslides. In turn, gripping jaws 50 a, 50 b are attached to the grippingjaw holders 260 a, 260 b. The special type of coupling the gripping jaws50 a, 50 b within the gripping jaw assembly 200 enables that thegripping jaws 50 a, 50 b along second horizontal direction Y are movableas well as also pivotable.

In reference to FIGS. 10A-10D, showing detailed views of the ends of thegripping jaws 50 a, 50 b facing away from the gripping jaw assembly 200,pivot devices assigned to the gripping jaws 50 a, 50 b are described,these pivot devices already being shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B; however,they have not been discussed within the context of these figures. As canbe concluded from FIG. 10A, respectively one pivot device is assigned togripping jaws 50 a, 50 b configured as a flat profile, which in theshown embodiment includes a guide 61 a, 61 b extending in firsthorizontal direction X. A pivot element 62 a, 62 b is guided throughthis guide 61 a, 61 b, each of the pivot elements 62 a, 62 b having atits terminal end a catching section angled by approximately 90° inregard to the longitudinal direction, which in FIG. 10A is verticallyaligned at the ends of the gripping jaws 50 a, 50 b. The pivot elementsare rotatable via (not shown) actuators, the catching section via thisrotary movement, as it is shown in FIG. 10B, can be rotated into theregion between inner surfaces 51 a, 51 b of the clamping jaws. In orderto pull a bottle-like medicament pack resting on a storage place fromthis storage place using the gripping jaws 50 a, 50 b, the catchingsections, as soon as the gripping jaws 50 a, 50 b have been moved intothe correct position in reference to the first horizontal direction X,are pivoted into the region between the gripping jaws 50 a, 50 b and, inso doing, when the gripping jaws 50 a, 50 b are accordingly aligned, aregripping the usually circularly configured base of the medicament packsfrom behind. As soon as a corresponding gripping from behind isconfigured, the bottle-like medicament packs can be pulled from thestorage location, the parallel gripping jaws 50 a, 50 b serving asguides.

In the operating device 1 shown in FIG. 10A, guides 61 a, 61 b, throughwhich pivot elements 62 a, 62 b extend, are situated below the actualgripping jaws. In some variations, it is of course possible that guides61 a, 61 b are situated above actual gripping jaws 50 a, 50 b, asindicated in FIG. 10C. Pivots elements 62 a, 62 b can also be guidedthrough the gripping jaws 50 a, 50 b, the recesses in the gripping jaws50 a, 50 b forming the guides 61 a, 61 b. Tray 2 may include a slot 11,thereby allowing for a pushing device (not shown) to enter into andretract from the space above the tray 2.

The pivot device, for example, can also be combined with the rod-shapedgripping jaws 13 a, 13 b. In this case it possibly lends itself toguiding the pivot elements 62 a, 62 b through the gripping jaws 50 a, 50b formed as a round profile.

The present disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the various aspects described herein. The disclosureprovides various examples of the subject technology, and the subjecttechnology is not limited to these examples. Various modifications tothese aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, andthe generic principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects.

A reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “oneand only one” unless specifically so stated, but rather “one or more.”Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “some” refers to one ormore. Pronouns in the masculine (e.g., his) include the feminine andneuter gender (e.g., her and its) and vice versa. Headings andsubheadings, if any, are used for convenience only and do not limit thesubject technology.

The word “exemplary” or the term “for example” is used herein to mean“serving as an example or illustration.” Any aspect or design describedherein as “exemplary” or “for example” is not necessarily to beconstrued as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs. Inone aspect, various alternative configurations and operations describedherein may be considered to be at least equivalent.

As used herein, the phrase “at least one of” preceding a series ofitems, with the term “or” to separate any of the items, modifies thelist as a whole, rather than each item of the list. The phrase “at leastone of” does not require selection of at least one item; rather, thephrase allows a meaning that includes at least one of any one of theitems, and/or at least one of any combination of the items, and/or atleast one of each of the items. By way of example, the phrase “at leastone of A, B, or C” may refer to: only A, only B, or only C; or anycombination of A, B, and C.

A phrase such as an “aspect” does not imply that such aspect isessential to the subject technology or that such aspect applies to allconfigurations of the subject technology. A disclosure relating to anaspect may apply to all configurations, or one or more configurations.An aspect may provide one or more examples. A phrase such as an aspectmay refer to one or more aspects and vice versa. A phrase such as an“embodiment” does not imply that such embodiment is essential to thesubject technology or that such embodiment applies to all configurationsof the subject technology. A disclosure relating to an embodiment mayapply to all embodiments, or one or more embodiments. An embodiment mayprovide one or more examples. A phrase such an embodiment may refer toone or more embodiments and vice versa. A phrase such as a“configuration” does not imply that such configuration is essential tothe subject technology or that such configuration applies to allconfigurations of the subject technology. A disclosure relating to aconfiguration may apply to all configurations, or one or moreconfigurations. A configuration may provide one or more examples. Aphrase such a configuration may refer to one or more configurations andvice versa.

In one aspect, unless otherwise stated, all measurements, values,ratings, positions, magnitudes, sizes, and other specifications that areset forth in this specification, including in the claims that follow,are approximate, not exact. In one aspect, they are intended to have areasonable range that is consistent with the functions to which theyrelate and with what is customary in the art to which they pertain.

It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps,operations or processes disclosed is an illustration of exemplaryapproaches. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that thespecific order or hierarchy of steps, operations or processes may berearranged. Some of the steps, operations or processes may be performedsimultaneously. Some or all of the steps, operations, or processes maybe performed automatically, without the intervention of a user. Theaccompanying method claims, if any, present elements of the varioussteps, operations or processes in a sample order, and are not meant tobe limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the variousaspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or latercome to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expresslyincorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed bythe claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to bededicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure isexplicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is to be construedunder the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112 (f) unless the element isexpressly recited using the phrase “means for” or, in the case of amethod claim, the element is recited using the phrase “step for.”Furthermore, to the extent that the term “include,” “have,” or the likeis used, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar tothe term “comprise” as “comprise” is interpreted when employed as atransitional word in a claim.

The Title, Background, Summary, Brief Description of the Drawings andAbstract of the disclosure are hereby incorporated into the disclosureand are provided as illustrative examples of the disclosure, not asrestrictive descriptions. It is submitted with the understanding thatthey will not be used to limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Inaddition, in the Detailed Description, it can be seen that thedescription provides illustrative examples and the various features aregrouped together in various embodiments for the purpose of streamliningthe disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed subject matter requires morefeatures than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as thefollowing claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than allfeatures of a single disclosed configuration or operation. The followingclaims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with eachclaim standing on its own as a separately claimed subject matter.

The claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects describedherein, but are to be accorded the full scope consistent with thelanguage claims and to encompass all legal equivalents. Notwithstanding,none of the claims are intended to embrace subject matter that fails tosatisfy the requirement of 35 U.S.C. § 101, 102, or 103, nor should theybe interpreted in such a way.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of moving piece goods, the method comprising: moving a gripping jaw assembly comprising first and second gripping jaws disposed opposed to each other along a lengthwise axis, the first and second gripping jaws having inner surfaces, wherein a distance between upper portions of the inner surfaces is greater than a distance between lower portions below the upper portions of the opposed inner surfaces in a first position of the first and second gripping jaws, wherein the moving comprises moving by a first actuation unit the gripping jaw assembly along the lengthwise axis toward a storage place having one or more piece goods; moving, by the first actuation unit, the first and second gripping jaws adjacent a first piece good disposed in a first location of the storage place; engaging, by the first and second gripping jaws, the first piece good; and moving, by the first actuation unit, the first and second gripping jaws away from the first location of the storage place to remove the first piece good from the first location of the storage place.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first piece good is cylindrical and engaging the first cylindrical piece good in the first location of the storage place comprises: lifting, by the first and second gripping jaws, the first cylindrical piece good from below.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first piece good is one of having a rectangular base and cylindrical, wherein engaging the first piece good in the first location of the storage place comprises: rotating, by a second actuation unit, the first and second gripping jaws from the first position into a second position in which the inner surfaces of the first and second gripping jaws are aligned parallel to each other; moving, by a third actuation unit, the first and second gripping jaws toward each other along a widthwise axis transverse to the lengthwise axis; and clamping the first piece good between the first and second gripping jaws.
 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising: pivoting, by a fourth actuation unit, at least one of the first and second gripping jaws so that terminal ends of the first and second gripping jaws are moved toward each other.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second gripping jaws each have a flat profile with the inner surface being a plane inner surface.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein at least a portion of one of the first and second gripping jaws comprises a web extending along the lengthwise axis.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second gripping jaws each have a round profile and the opposed inner surfaces are convex to each other.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: moving the first piece good to a second location of the storage place, and sliding, by a sliding device, the first piece good onto the second location.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: catching, by a catching section at an end of the first gripping jaw, the first piece good between the first and second gripping jaws, and pulling the first piece good from the storage place onto a tray disposed below the first and second gripping jaws.
 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising: moving the gripping jaw assembly and the tray to a second location of the storage place and sliding, by a sliding device, the first piece good onto the second location.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising: moving, by the first actuation unit, the first and second gripping jaws to a second location in the storage place; and disengaging, by the first and second gripping jaws, the first piece good to place the first piece good in the second location of the storage place.
 12. The method of claim 1, further comprising: moving, by the first actuation unit, the first and second gripping jaws to a second location not in the storage place; and disengaging, by the first and second gripping jaws, the first piece good to place the first piece good in the second location.
 13. A method of moving cylindrical piece goods, the method comprising: moving a gripping jaw assembly comprising first and second gripping jaws disposed opposed to each other along a lengthwise axis, the first and second gripping jaws having inner surfaces, wherein a distance between upper portions of the inner surfaces is greater than a distance between lower portions of the opposed inner surfaces in a first position of the first and second gripping jaws, wherein the moving comprises moving, by a first actuation unit, the gripping jaw assembly along the lengthwise axis toward a storage place having one or more piece goods; lifting, by the first and second gripping jaws, a first cylindrical piece good from below; and moving, by the first actuation unit, the first and second gripping jaws to move the first cylindrical piece good to a different location.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: sliding, by a sliding device, the first piece good onto the different location.
 15. The method of claim 13, further comprising: catching, by a catching section at an end of the first gripping jaw, the first cylindrical piece good between the first and second gripping jaws, and pulling the first cylindrical piece good onto a tray disposed below the first and second gripping jaws.
 16. The method of claim 13, wherein the opposed inner surfaces are convex to each other.
 17. The method of claim 13, wherein the first and second gripping jaws each have a flat profile with the inner surface being a planar inner surface.
 18. The method of claim 13 wherein the different location is not in the storage place. 